Pallet trucks are one of the most common materials handling vehicles in use today and may include, for example, fork lift trucks, pallet jacks, and similar vehicles. Pallet trucks are utilized in a wide variety of businesses involved in product manufacturing, distribution, and retailing where large products or large packages of products need to be loaded, unloaded, and moved around a facility.
Pallet trucks have utilized detachable or modular adapters to customize the platform or forks to accommodate a particular type or brand of product or pallet design. These detachable or modular adapters are generally installed and removed as needed. In addition, when the adapters are not in use, they are typically removed and must be stored in the facility where the pallet truck is being used. For example, a pallet truck adapter for supporting half-size pallets is disclosed in U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2013/0202400 (US'400). When fitted onto the forks of a pallet truck, the adapter of US'400 provides pallet supports having differing heights to facilitate half-size pallet handling by lifting a half-size pallet on the higher support, lifting it slightly off of the supporting surface, and then moving to and lifting another half-size pallet on the lower support. The adjacent pallets can then be moved together and off loaded at different locations, unloading the pallet on the lower shoe first, and the pallet on the higher shoe thereafter.